I bought a new road bike and have begun the long road back to fitness and lovin it

about what speed should I be aiming at say after a months training..at the moment Im averaging 25km ph which is thru hilly area and some flat areas...this is after about 4 rides and my weight is 90kg but Im solid not flabby and reasonably fit for 38 years of age

using a speclialized bike Aleez comp 2008 so bike is fine..and love it

Im looking at keeping my rides to about an hour and half and increaing the tempo..or should I try and fit a long haul in at some point?

I don't race, I don't train, I just ride, so a grain of salt is prolly indicated about now...

Know your comfort zone and try to spend a fair bit of your rides just a little bit above it, keep it up and your body will naturally lift the bar for you. Add some variety in routes and distances to keep motivation up.

This is a real "how long is a piece of string" question. Terrain, weather conditions (headwind/crosswind/tailwind/no wind) and riding solo or in a bunch, what you had for breakfast, what you did yesterday and heaps of other factors can all affect your average speed.

You could do a lot worse than follow Shaun's advice. Give it a month or two and you'll see some real improvement. I found that riding to work (15-20 minutes) going as hard as I could the whole way each direction built my fitness well, just got to work on endurance now. Try and get on bunch rides, join your local club.

"...for many people your life is not worth the effort it takes to pay attention or the extra few seconds they may need to wait before they can safely get around you."-BikeSnobNYC

svenny wrote:yeah worried if I do a club social ride I will be left 2 km behind

thanks for advice guys

There are some good group rides for beginners. You can find out beforehand if a group will be suitable for you. Do a few easy group rides to get used to it and then start moving up to some faster groups. I found the group rides really helped my speed as they push you along. Getting left behind is a real incentive to go faster.